Dragon’s Dogma 2 Team Was Surprised By How Much Players Wanted Transmog

Transmog has basically become a commonplace feature in today’s RPGs, letting players run gear with better stats without sacrificing their carefully handpicked looks. Dragon’s Dogma 2 rather infamously skipped the transmog feature at launch, disappointing veteran Arisens and newcomers alike. But its fanbase has made it clear to Capcom that fashion matters, even when you’re hunting tusked trolls and dragons.

During an interview in Famitsu issue 1962, Dragon’s Dogma 2: Dark Arisen director Kento Kinoshita was asked what post-launch feedback ‘surprised’ or ‘caught’ the team’s attention. “It would be the ‘dress-up’ feature,” revealed Kinoshita, referring to the more commonly known transmogrification system for Western games. Considering the strong request for it, the team decided to finally add it as additional content for the Dark Arisen DLC that players can eventually unlock. He also teased the feature in the previous interview, perhaps reflecting on the company’s other successful action RPG, which incidentally also has transmog.

Still, Capcom understands that the customization system is pretty divisive, acknowledging that there are people who want a transmog system and those who prefer that games like Dragon’s Dogma shouldn’t have one. With that in mind, the expansion will apparently include a toggle for it. “Furthermore, for those who don’t support the addition of said feature, we made sure that we included an option allowing users to choose whether or not [transmog] is enabled,” he explained.

Despite that, though, the Dragon’s Dogma 2 team is sticking its gun on a more controversial feature: the Dragonsplague. In the base game, both players’ own and hired Pawns can contract the Dragonsplague Debilitation, which increases their power but can result in an infected Pawn slaughtering an entire village. Some found this system intriguing, but many saw its implementation as questionable. After all, symptoms are hardly detectable and risk halting progress because important villagers are, well, dead.

“By the way, rather than removing Dragonsplague, we decided to turn it into an advantage,” said Kinoshita. Some might groan upon hearing it, but apparently, the Dragonsplague has been buffed for Dragon’s Dogma 2: Dark Arisen. Pawns with the ailment will be able to stun large enemies and attack smaller ones without losing stamina, while their Loss Gauge accumulates much more slowly. “This is done to maintain the feeling of tension and expand the choices available to players,” he added.